This document provides strategies for companies doing business in Brazil. It discusses management strategies for native and expatriate managers in Brazil, including the need to get the best results with smaller teams and carefully manage costs and time. It also outlines effective leadership behaviors for Brazil such as having a long-term vision and providing necessary information and support to employees. The document then discusses strategies for engaging clients in Brazil, such as getting to know the market and offering solutions, as well as ways to maintain relationships.

1. BRIC Country Series: Brazil
Strategies for Companies Doing
Business in Brazil
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2. Table of Contents
Management Strategies
Expats in Brazil
Strategies for Engaging
Clients
Special Offer
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3. Management Strategies
1. Currently, the most important business issues for
managers ( ti
(natives and expats) i B il are:
d
t ) in Brazil
•
•
•
•
•
Managers will have to get the best results with smaller
teams, due to reductions caused by the recent economic
crisis; they will need employees that can fill more than one
position in the company.
They will need a good performance evaluation program and
should plan carefully their training needs in order to prepare
people to assume new responsibilities as soon as possible.
Big projects will be broken down into small initiatives.
They will have to carefully manage costs and time expended
on projects.
Managers also have to g as much information as p
g
get
possible
to support their decisions, through both formal and informal
channels.
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4. Management Strategies
2. Effective l d hi in Brazil includes the following
2 Eff ti leadership i B il i l d th f ll i
behaviors:
•
•
•
•
•
An effective manager should have a long term vision.
g
g
Have the ability to analyze and evaluate targets and results.
They should always provide the team with necessary
information and conditions to meet the results
results.
Personal needs or problems should be considered so that
the employee feels valued and respected as an individual.
Flexibility is very important
important.
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5. For Your Information
Information…
Business i not conducted d i th f ll i ti
B i
is t
d t d during the following times
and or occasions:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Weekends or during events such as the World Cup or the
g
p
Olympic games
School holidays – July (short break – for a month) and end of
the school year ( g break December, January, February)
y
(long
,
y,
y)
National Holiday ( 7th September)
Labor Day
Religious holidays
Carnival – end of February or the beginning of March (4 days
Sat/Sun/Mon/Tue/Wed until midday)
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6. Motivating Employees
•
Brazilians’ group-orientation means th t they tend to value
B ili
’
i t ti
that th t d t
l
improvements in the work environment, including the physical
conditions of the workplace. This preference reflects their need to
feel a sense of belonging
belonging.
•
In response, some companies, especially wealthy international
firms, make f iliti such as a soccer fi ld b b
fi
k facilities
h
field, barbecue pit, reading
it
di
room, and or television room available to their employees.
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7. Expats in Brazil
1. Wh t
1 What are the most important issues for expat
th
ti
t ti
f
t
managers in Brazil to get right?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Get to know the culture, customs and values.
Respect Brazilian customs and values.
Respect Brazilian women.
Respect their football team.
Avoid conflict.
Value relationships more than tasks.
Offer guidance.
g
Provide verbal appraisals and recognition.
Try to communicate in Portuguese; at least offer greetings and
thanks in Portuguese.
Take care of the group (their needs, their problems) as if a parent
might.
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8. Expats in Brazil
2. How are expat managers t i ll perceived?
2 H
t
typically
i d?
•
•
•
Expat managers can be perceived as very important people
and considered as very competent professionals because
they deserved the company’s confidence and investment of
sending them to another country.
Their opinions are respected and valued.
If adaptation doesn’t occur (between both expats and locals)
they can be perceived as arrogant, out of place and
authoritarian.
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9. Expats in Brazil
3.
3 If an expat doesn’t socialize, h or she can b
td
’t
i li
he
h
be
perceived by Brazilian nationals as arrogant.
4. When expats criticize Brazil and the Brazilian way of
life (e.g., food of style of dress), they might be asked
whether they would like to return to their home
country.
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10. Expats in Brazil
5. Some actions and b h i
5 S
ti
d behaviors are appropriate f
i t for
natives of Brazil, yet should not be adopted by
expats who are not completely fluent in Brazilian
p
p
y
practices and culture. Here are a few examples:
•
•
•
Brazilians criticize their country and the government, but
don t
don’t like foreigners talking about their problems Criticism
problems.
can be taken as a personal offense.
Expats should not try to dance “the Brazilian samba” if they
are not trained for that otherwise they will become the focus
that,
of jokes.
Religion is not an appropriate topic for discussion.
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11. Strategies for Engaging Clients
1. To build
1 T b ild rapport with potential clients i B il
t ith t ti l li t in Brazil...
•
•
Get to know the market (including the client’s position in the
market), its needs, weaknesses and opportunities.
Offer solutions and suggestions.
2.
2 When visiting a prospect or a client
client...
•
Get to know the client and his/her vision of the future for the
organization.
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12. Strategies for Engaging Clients
3. Vendors should avoid. . .
•
•
•
Offering “imported” solutions without considering the local
reality/market.
Assuming that Brazilians don’t know how to take care of business.
Playing the “smart guy.”
4. When negotiating with prospects or clients from Brazil. . .
•
•
•
•
Always begin with small talk in conversation before talking about
business.
Show respect by exhibiting knowledge of your prospect’s / client’s
company.
Show respect for their product.
Be willing to contribute to their development / expansion /
improvement.
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13. Strategies for Engaging Clients
5. Recognizing and handling conflict
5 R
i i
d h dli
fli t
•
•
Conflicts arise for several reasons but one of the strongest
is when a conflict of interest occurs. This situation is
supposed to be handled with maturity and in a productive
way for both parties involved.
Unfortunately, conflicts are sometimes handled in a very
emotional way. It is important to stay calm.
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14. Strategies for Engaging Clients
6. To
6 T maintain a relationship (f the purpose of
i t i
l ti
hi (for th
f
getting follow-on business) . . .
•
•
Keep a g
p good after sales follow up p g
p program showing new
g
solutions and quickly correcting product problems.
Send greeting cards and mementos at the end of the year.
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15. Hofstede Scores for Brazil
1. Individualism: 38
(Group Orientation)
2. Power Distance: 69
(Hierarchical
Orientation)
3. Certainty: 76 (Need for
Certainty)
4. Achievement: 49
(Quality of Life
Orientation)
5. Time Orientation: 44
(Short-Term Orientation)
The graph above provides a snapshot of the culturally based values in Brazil The scores that extend furthest
Brazil.
away from the line in the middle are the most significant. The graph shows that Brazilians tend to be grouporiented, accept a hierarchical power structure, have a need for certainty, and are short-term oriented.
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16. Cultural Disharmony Undermines
y
Workplace Creativity
“Managing cultural friction not only
Managing
creates a more harmonious workplace,
says professor Roy Y.J. Chua, but
Y J Chua
ensures that you reap the creative
benefits of multiculturalism at its
best.”
SOURCE: Blanding, Michael, W ki K
SOURCE Bl di
Mi h l Working Knowledge, H
l d
Harvard B i
d Business S h l 09 D 2013 R
School,
Dec
Research & Id
h Ideas
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17. Special Offer – ITAP’s GTPQ
1.
1 If you already suspect that there is cultural misalignment among
l d
t th t th
i
lt l i li
t
and between team members…
2. If you want to examine the gaps in work-related values within
your t
team..
3. In order to bridge the gaps to motivate employees, work more
effectively with colleagues, be better at engaging with clients…
4. If it would help focus the team by comparing your team’s culture
with the culture of the 5 best teams in ITAP’s database…
…ITAP’s Global Team Process Questionnaire™ (GTPQ)
identifies cultural misalignment as well as other areas that
need work so you can focus on team improvement. The GTPQ
would also allow you to measure change/improvement over
ld l
ll
t
h
/i
t
time.
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18. Measuring Cultural Disharmony
ITAP measures human process
interactions on teams which
include:
• Executive overviews
• Both quantitative answers
and qualitative insights
• Automated diagnosis
• Customized with questions
that address your team
goals…
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19. Avoid Ambient Cultural
Disharmony…
PROMOTION: Buy 1, get 1 FREE (GTPQ team
analysis)
Buy 1 iteration of ITAP’s Global Team Process
Questionnaire (GTPQ )
Questionnaire™ (GTPQ*) at $1000 and also receive 1 hour
virtual debrief with each iteration. Email me
(cbing@itapintl.com) and enter PROMOTION CODE
B14GTPQ i the subject line
in th
bj t li
*GTPQ (Premium Version) retails for $1,000/team plus debrief or delivery of interventions for the
team @ $350/hour
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20. Questions? Please email or call me…
Questions? Please email or call me…
Catherine Mercer Bing
CEO, ITAP International, Inc.
cbing@itapintl.com
ITAP International, Inc.
353 Nassau Street, 1st Floor
Princeton, NJ 08540 USA
(W) 1.215.860.5640
(W) 1 215 860 5640
http://www.itapintl.com
Remember! Put your
PROMOTION CODE: B14GTPQ
in the subject line of your
email.
…thank you…
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